Spiritual Growth in the City :)

Spiritual Growth= replacing lies with the truth. To be a healthy disciple for Christ, we must feed on God’s word. (This should be our very first priority!)

John 8: 31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

How do I make spiritual growth my #1 priority?

1)      I must accept the authority of God’s word

The bible must be the compass I rely on for direction. When I have an important decision to make, I need to turn directly to the word for answers. Through meditating on scripture, my head and my heart will be following God’s direction. The decisions I make will align with Christ when I am devoting my time to him and my first priority is to please Him.

Troubles often follow selfish choices. When I base decisions on culture, “everyone else is doing it,” or reason “logical”, or emotion “feels right.” When I am not diving into the word, I tend to makes my own choices based on feelings. When I have to decide, “What is the right thing to do,” I need to look and see what the bible says. 2 Timothy 3:16

2)      Incorporate the Truth (the Word)

I must fill my mind with the word so the Holy Spirit can transform me. In a Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren shares 5 ways to approach biblical teachings: receive it, read it, research it, remember it, and reflect on it.

When we feel that we are not learning or growing spiritually, we may need to check our attitude. God can use anyone or any circumstance to teach us when we have the correct mind set. So often I get wrapped up in myself: my schedule, my time, my worries…. At the end of the day I am “too tired” to open my bible and spend some time with God. But somehow I find myself plopped in front of the TV for an hour or so before turning of the lights and hitting the pillow. So why do I think I do not have enough time when I choose to waste several minutes of the day filling my life with worldly/fictional shows. I am only robbing myself of the Joy God has to offer me. All he asks is that I give him a small part of my day.

“We can’t watch television for 3 hours, then read the bible for 3 minutes and expect to grow.” -Rick Warren

I have never actually read the entire bible cover to cover, so how can I say that I agree with 100% of God’s word, when I don’t even know what 100% of the word says? If I was to devote about 15 minutes of each day to reading God’s word, I could read the entire bible in 1 year.

Deuteronomy 17:19- It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees

3)      Apply the Principles of His Word

God calls each of us to be “doers” of the word not just believers of the word. Satan does not mind if we go to church or read our bibles if we don’t apply what we learn. We are only blessed by DOING!

James 1:25 But those who look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continue in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
John 13:17- Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
We often avoid doing (the application part) because it can be painful. “The truth will set you free, but first it may make you miserable!”-Rick Warren

*Today’s Challenge: Write out an action plan: “How will you become a doer?” This plan needs to be personal, practical, and provable! Commit to spending X amount of time in the word each day or week.

Answer: What has God told me to do that I have been avoiding? Or what is it God wants me to do? If you do not know what the Lord is asking you to do, it is even more important to devote yourself to His word. If you are actively seeking Him, He will reveal this to you.

In my last entry, I shared that Christ had opened some big doors in my life & that I had some exciting news. Over the past 3ish months, I have felt very complacent, I do not have any complaints but I had a burning inside me that God had something else planned for my life. I began to pray that the Lord would show me where He wanted me and what he wanted me to do. A few weeks later my mom asked if I wanted to go with her to New York (and that she would pay for my trip) so Duh, I wanted to go. While I was there, I couldn’t stop wondering… what would it be like to live here? keep in mind I had no intention of moving... only visiting. I have always been in the “comfort zone.” I went to private school, then Texas A&M and then back home to Houston (living with mom and dad). Had I ever taken a risk? Ever stepped outside that comfort zone bubble of mine?  After spending a weekend in the City, I told my parents that I wanted to do something new and asked them to start praying that God would open the right doors.  I currently work for El Paso Energy (oil & gas) as an SCM Specialist. For those of you who know me… that is not the job you would expect. I can really see myself in events, fashion, PR, or marketing. I love talking to people and being creative… So where better to look than New York? But I really struggled with the thought of leaving my friends, family, & co-workers. Still, I ended up going back to NYC for an interview & the very same weekend the announcement was made: “Kinder Morgan bought out El Paso” meaning my job was no longer secure and things were going to change.

The day after that news hit, I got an offer to intern with a new company located in the middle of Manhattan! I called my cousin Allison to tell her the news and she extended an offer to live with her. (until she moves back for school) What to do? This is all happening so fast? Do I really just leave? Last Thursday evening I met with my dad to discuss my options and once I had his blessing, I knew I had to go… I have never ever in my life felt so at peace. I am actually really nervous and excited, but I am so peaceful that this is absolutely what I am suppose to do. I don’t know if the internship will turn into the job of my dreams 3 months from now? (although I hope it does) But I know for certain that God has me going up to New York for a bigger purpose than I know. I am so excited to see what He has in store!

Please be praying for me these next few months. Although this is exciting, it will also be hard. I am leaving my “comfort zone” saying goodbye to all my dear friends and heading to a foreign city. Goodbye Houston… Hello New York!